The aim of the thesis is to study how long-term female prisoners in Finland feel about their prison time as a part of their life. We have interviewed five respondents about their subjective feelings and experiences of incarceration.
In the theoretical framework of this study we highlight the underlying factors that characterize long-term female prisoners: violence and social relationships is discussed. We also write about crisis and other psychological phenomena, such as institutionalization and survival strategies.
In the empirical part of this study we apply a qualitative research method and qualitative interviews. The results show that long-term female prisoners do not experience prison time as a part of their “real life”; the prison sentence is marked by waiting for a transfer to open prison and eventually freedom. We can, however, also draw conclusions that all the respondents have step-by-step accepted their situation and accustomed to prison life; the women note that their situation today is better than in the early days of their sentence.